Dr. Gabby on Pregnancy Loss
For the final blog post from this month’s Community Partner, Dr. Gabby, some tender thoughts on pregnancy loss from her perspective as a care provider. On a whim, I asked her if she’d given the topic much thought or if she’d ever written a piece on it in the past. Her unique perspective on the human body, how it’s designed to work, and how best to love it, made me think that her take on loss might be equally as special. This was her thoughtful response:
In my experience, I have not dealt with it as much in the moment as I have after the fact, as women so boldly share their experiences of past pregnancies, abortion, etc. with me during initial visits (and beyond).
I absolutely commune with this being traumatic on multiple levels, and I would love to put together a piece of writing from a chiropractic/ “body keeps the score” perspective—I envision that this will have a heavy emphasis on 1) trusting self and the fact that our bodies are always here to work for us, innately, and 2) what it means to have proper support as we navigate such difficult and ultimately, life-altering moments.
I do want to add that I have no experience with these things personally, but my heart yearns for those who go through these processes, particularly without “tribal” support.
So, without further ado, thoughts from Dr. Gabby on this devastating and life-changing type of loss.
The fabrication of much of what our society has been for years or even decades is made up of that which is curated, specified, and carefully chosen–particularly when it comes to the experiences that SO many birthing bodies are experiencing.
Historically, pregnancy loss has been one of these topics.
These losses may present as challenging at best to understand by those who are not experiencing it firsthand. Our culture is one of primarily “doing”, however in these moments in which there is quite literally nothing to do, the desire to find words that could shepherd one closer to comfort merely may not exist.
So when there are no words,
when there are no actions that can bluntly disappear all of this residual dis-ease,
what do we do?
We co-regulate.
We support these magical and amazing and intelligently-created birthing bodies in feeling at home, in feeling supported, providing time and space to allow the embodiment of holy and divine and extra-ordinary sink in.
In my world of chiropractic, we call this integration.
We provide a moment in time for our bodies to connect into all that can be felt, experienced, and even grieved, so our bodies, our nervous systems, and our minds can learn what it needs from this experience, weaving in the newfound knowledge and wisdom into the very fabric of our being, and letting go of the rest…in due time.
At the inside space we are here to remind you of the power, the innate intelligence, the magnificence that lies within your body–and the beautiful thing is that it has always been with you, and always will be. Even in the midst of those moments where it feels so outlying or lost, it resides within you, working for you every step of the way.
These moments are often the most challenging in which to commune with this intelligence. And the beautiful thing? You don’t have to do it alone. The inside space was curated for you.
